Which U.S. State Has the Most Immigrants?

Immigration to America began around 1492, and hasn’t let up much
since then. Almost everyone in the U.S. is from somewhere else if you
look far enough back, but most recent immigrants reside in California,
New York, Texas, Illinois or Florida.

Here are the top five states, with the total number of foreign-born
residents that each had in 2008, according to American Community Survey:

California (9,859,027)

New York (4,236,768)

Texas (3,887,224)

Florida (3,391,511)

Illinois (1,782,423)

Arizona, which sparked controversy when lawmakers passed new legislation aimed at identifying and prosecuting illegal immigrants, finished at number eight on the list with 932,518 immigrants.

The distribution of immigrants in America results from a combination
of geographic proximity, economic opportunities and historic trends,
Janne Batalova, an immigration policy analyst at the Migration Policy
Institute, told Life’s Little Mysteries. Immigrants looking for jobs
usually enter the most accessible area of the U.S., and then establish
communities that attract more immigrants from their former homes.

For example, Chinese immigrants headed to California
in the 1800s to work in gold mines, while European immigrants headed to
New York to work in the nation’s growing industrial sector. Those
communities put down roots that still exist today and continue to
attract new immigrants from their countries of origin, Batalova said.

California and Texas used to be part of Mexico,
and they both have populations of Mexican people who can trace their
roots to that time. Florida, close to the Caribbean, has maintains a
large Cuban population, Batalova said.

But physical proximity isn't always a requirement. Illinois has long
been a hub of Eastern European immigration. In this case, initial
settlement by a group led to increased future settlement by members of
the same group.

“Immigration is greatly facilitated by networks that connect
immigrants with jobs, help them integrate, and move on with their lives
in the United States. And of course, they come for jobs,” Batalova said.

The economic attraction explains the traditional migration of immigrants to big cities like Los Angeles, New York City,
Chicago, Miami and Dallas, Batalova said. In 2008, nearly 38 million
Americans hailed from another country, and more than 8 million of those
resided in either Los Angeles or New York City, according to the 2008
American Community Survey.

A more recent trend has been the wider dissemination of immigrants
throughout the country. In fact, between 1990 and 2008, 14 states saw
their rate of immigration increase by 200 percent or more, according to
the 2008 American Community Survey.

As the economy has suffered, immigrants have blazed trails in states
such as Georgia, Nevada and Washington where they found less
competition for work, Batalova said. Those states have seen an increase
in immigration recently, despite their lack of the traditional support
structure of established immigrant enclaves.

Stuart Fox

Stuart Fox currently researches and develops physical and digital exhibit experiences at the Science Liberty Center. His news writing includes the likes of several Purch sites, including Live Science and Live Science's Life's Little Mysteries.